The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday that it celebrated Hoi Hoi’s 12th birthday with 30 parents and their children last Monday.
The statement said that the bureau invited 15 pairs of parents and their children to have a birthday party for Macau’s giant panda Hoi Hoi. The statement pointed out that Hoi Hoi’s caretaker gave him an iced-fruit birthday cake, adding that he “devoured” the cake.
According to the statement, Hoi Hoi weighs 129 kilogrammes and is in good health. The statement noted that Hoi Hoi mainly eats bamboo, but the caretakers add non-staple food to ensure that he and Macau’s three other giant pandas get enough nutrition.
The statement also said that during hot summer days, the giant pandas like to play with big or small ice blocks and swim in water, adding that Hoi Hoi “loves to hug the ice blocks tightly”. His name in Putonghua is Kai Kai.
According to a government website, Hoi Hoi and the other giant panda Sam Sam (their names mean “Happiness” in Cantonese when combined as “Hoi Sam”) were gifts from President Xi Jinping during his visit to Macau for the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland. In 2016, Sam Sam gave birth to twins Kin Kin and Hong Hong, which means “healthy” when combined as “Kin Hong” in Cantonese. The four-member family lives at the Macau Giant Panda Pavilion in Seac Pai Van.
The original Sam Sam died in 2014 of liver failure and the following year Macau was presented with another female panda, also named Sam Sam who is the mother of Kin Kin and Hong Hong. Sam Sam is now 13-years-old.
This undated handout photo provided by IAM yesterday shows Hoi Hoi eating his bamboo and sitting next to his iced-fruit birthday cake.
